Central Notes: Wood, Dellavedova, Brogdon, Bickerstaff

Pistons power forward Christian Wood believes he needs to take a bigger offensive role with Derrick Rose sidelined, as he told the Detroit Free Press and other media members. Wood, an unrestricted free agent after the season, notched back-to-back career highs with 29 points against Oklahoma City and 30 against Utah last week. Rose is expected to miss the rest of the season with an ankle injury. “My mindset has been attack, take advantage of the opportunity,” Wood said. “With D-Rose being gone, I’ve got to be one of the first options for the team. I think I’ve been doing a good job of that and helping my team score.”

We have more from around the Central Division:

• Cavaliers guard Matthew Dellavedova heads into unrestricted free agency this summer and isn’t secure about his place in the league, he told Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “I always feel I have to prove myself,” Dellavedova said. “Prove myself to get here. Prove myself to stay here. I never think that goes away.” Coach J.B. Bickerstaff hopes the club retains the veteran guard to guide an otherwise green backcourt, Kelsey Russo of The Athletic relays. “If you’re in the current situation that we’re in, if you are a championship team, no matter what it may be, Delly is the type of guy you want on your team,” he said.
• Combo guard Aaron Holiday will start in place of injured Pacers point man Malcolm Brogdon and Edmond Sumner will get rotation minutes off the bench, J. Michael of the Indianapolis Star reports. Brogdon is out indefinitely due to a torn quad muscle.
• The morale around the Cavaliers has improved since Bickerstaff replaced John Beilein and the new coach has noticed, Fedor writes in a separate story. “They just keep pulling for one another and they celebrate other people’s success,” Bickerstaff said. “I think that’s a core value of a good team. That’s where we’re building. It’s fun to watch how they treat each other, how they respect one another. … It’s part of the environment we’re trying to create.”